Zoot Money is a pianist, organist, and actor, born George
Bruno Money on 17
July 1942 in
Bournemouth,
Dorset
(then in Hampshire),
England.
Both his parents were Italian immigrants, although his
father's family (really called Money) were originally English.
At school Zoot played the French horn and sang in the choir,
but it wasn't long before he switched to rock and roll, inspired by Jerry
Lee Lewis and Ray Charles, and soon became a leading
light on Bournemouth's vibrant music scene. He named himself Zoot after
the jazz saxophonist Zoot Sims.
In 1961
Zoot formed the first incarnation of the Big Roll band; over the next
two years the line-up settled into Andy Summers (later of the Police) on guitar,
Nick Newall on saxophone and Colin Allen on drums, with
Zoot on piano and Hammond organ. This lineup continued for a few years
with various interruptions. The first was when Zoot, spotted by
"British Blues Godfather" Alexis Korner's then
manager, was invited to play with Korner's Blues Incorporated for
a temporary spell. Zoot decided to stay in London, and the other Big
Rollers soon joined him.
Before long The Big Roll Band, taking over a residency
previously held by Georgie Fame & The
Blue Flames and then The Animals, were playing
regularly at the Flamingo, a Soho club renowned for its wild
all-nighters. They played a cooking mixture of soul, jazz and
R&B, peppered with the flamboyant antics of front man Zoot.
Nurturing a passion for Ray Charles, the Hammond
organ, and the odd alcoholic beverage, Money was a popular live
attraction with the UK's "in-crowd" as the blues and R&B
movement of the early part of the decade progressed into the "Swinging
Sixties".
In 1967
Blues Incorporated became Dantalian's Chariot and in spite of a
singular lack of chart success, due in part to a 30 year delay in
releasing their album, the band found themselves at the heart of the
new counterculture, sharing bills with bands such as, amongst others, Pink
Floyd, Soft Machine and The Crazy World of
Arthur Brown.
A brief stint in America with Eric
Burdon's New Animals followed and Zoot decided to stay in the
USA for a while. At this point he began picking up acting roles,
starting a parallel career which has continued ever since with
character appearances in many high profile film and TV dramas.
On the musical side during the 1970s Zoot featured with
(amongst others) poetry and rock band Grimms, Ellis, Centipede, Kevin
Coyne and Kevin Ayers before signing up
in 1980 to Paul McCartney's label, MPL, to record the Jim
Diamond-produced Mr. Money.
Over the years Money has also worked with, amongst others Alexis
Korner (independently of Blues Inc), Rocket
88 , Spencer Davis,Geno
Washington, various incarnations of The
Animals and Alan Price, with whom he
continues to perform.
In early 2006 The British Blues Quintet
was formed when Zoot Money and his long-time collaborator, drummer
Colin Allen, teamed up with Allen's former bandmate from Stone
The Crows, vocalist Maggie Bell, bassist Colin
Hodgkinson (Alexis Korner, Whitesnake, Jan Hammer
and Spencer Davis) and guitarist Miller Anderson (Savoy
Brown, T-Rex,
Chicken
Shack and Spencer Davis). Alongside the most recent
incarnation of Zoot Money's Big Roll Band, which includes longtime Van
Morrison guitarist Ronnie Johnson and former Womble Paul
McCallum on bass, Money maintains a busy touring schedule around the UK
and Europe.
Other work
In addition to live music and acting performance Zoot has
penned songs for other artists - It Never Rains But It Pours
was recorded by Jimmy Witherspoon - he has also
written for such artists as Lulu, Maggie Bell and Long
John Baldry.
Money's extensive musical knowledge is also called on from
time to time as a radio programming consultant, a skill which led to a
spell in the 1990s as Musical Director for London's Melody
Radio.
He has produced two albums: Ruby Turner's Call Me By My
Name - Indigo Records, 1999, and Woodstock Taylor's Road
Movie, independently released on Cuppa Records.
As an actor Money appeared (playing a promotions man) in the film
Breaking Glass
with Hazel O'Connor. Sometimes credited as
G.B. Money or G.B. "Zoot" Money, he has appeared in a number of small
roles in British television
programmes such as Bergerac,
The Professionals
and The
Bill.
Selected recordings
- Zoot Money's Big Roll Band: "It Should Have Been Me"
(Columbia 33SX 1734) 1965
- Zoot Money's Big Roll Band: "Zoot! Live At Klook's Kleek"
(Columbia S(C)X 6075) 1966
- Zoot Money's Big Roll Band: "Were You there? Live 1966"
(Indigo Records IGOXCD 518) 1999
- Zoot Money's Big Roll Band: "Fully Clothed & Naked"
(Indigo Records
IGOXCD 529) rel. 2000, recorded mid-1960s
- Dantalian's Chariot: "Chariot Rising" (Wooden Hill Records
WHCD005) 1997, Originally recorded 1967
- Zoot Money's Big Roll Band: "Transition"
(Direction/Columbia 8-63231) 1968
- Zoot Money : "Welcome To My Head" (Capitol ST318
[USA]) 1969
- Alexis Korner and Friends: "The Party Album" (1978)
- "Mr Money" (1980)
- "Super Jam" (1990) - live recording of German TV series
"Villa Fantastica" features singers Zoot Money and Maria
Muldaur, Brian
Auger on piano, Pete York on drums, Dick
Morrissey on tenor, Roy Williams on trombone, and Harvey
Weston on bass.
External links
